20 Questions with Mandy Lion, 9/14/04

Today we’re talking to the one and only Mandy Lion! Now, some of you may be asking yourselves, "just who in the fuck is Mandy Lion?!" Well numb-nuts, we’re here to tell you that Mandy Lion is none other than the enigmatic frontman of WWIII, who just happens to be playing at our Metal Sludge Extravaganza 9 this coming weekend! Mandy also toured with ex-Ozzy/Badlands guitarist Jake E. Lee about a decade ago, but we’ll let him tell you about all that and more in this week’s 20 Questions.

1. What are you currently up to? This is your chance to plug whatever it is you want to plug.

I currently have 2 projects going… WWIII and the Mandy Lion band. WWIII is with Vinnie Appice and Jimmy Bain. The Mandy Lion band is David DuCey on drums and Moni Scaria on lead guitar which is also doing double time for WWIII. The latest WWIII CD (When God Turned Away), released on Reality Records is in your stores right now and can also be ordered over the official Mandy Lion website which is at mandy-lion.com and mandyliononline.com. The Mandy Lion band is playing with WASP at the Keyclub on Friday, October 29th. For tickets go to the website as well…

The Mandy Lion Band

2. The original ‘classic’ WWIII lineup (Jimmy Bain, Moni Scaria, Vinnie Appice, and yourself) recently reformed. What led to this get-together, and why did you guys split up in the first place?

Well, we had a label that could not sell a hooker in a brothel, an AR guy (Steve Jones) that was too stupid to piss a hole in the snow, an overweight egomaniac guitar player that was pissed that the rhythm section and the singer got more exposure than him and on top of that people started to believe that a band should wear jeans 4 sizes too big and cry about how daddy did not love them… All of those things combined with the fact that we were too different and too early with what we were doing caused us to do what we did.

3. WWIII will be playing our Metal Sludge Extravaganza #9 this Saturday night. You must be excited! Please tell us how much you’re looking forward to performing for all the Sludgeaholics at our party.

I am excited to do this show… I have seen the site and I believe that the sludgeaholics need an enema… Nurse Lion is on the case motherfuckers! This will also be the first show with the original lineup in over a decade. So, yes, I am excited about this one.

WWIII

4. Rate the following singers on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being a chump who can’t sing a note, and 10 having a voice that could shatter glass:

Vince Neil = 5Alice Cooper = 8Don Dokken = 5Paul Stanley = 5Ronnie James Dio =10Stephen Pearcy = 5Lemmy = Lemm is not a singer in the traditional sense but he is such an original that one has to give him the credit he deserves, I believe him and Bon Scott are just about as cool as it ever gets… a 10 from me.Blackie Lawless = 8Bret Michaels = 4Sebastian Bach = 6

5. You and former Ozzy guitarist Jake E. Lee joined forces for a club tour back in 1994, calling your project ‘Wicked Alliance.’ We understand that you guys got together again in the late 90’s to do some recording, but nothing you guys laid to tape has ever seen the light of day. What’s up with those recordings? Do you have any intention of ever releasing them?

I honestly don’t know if we will ever be able to finish that stuff… I have not spoken to Jake in a long time and no one knows where he is at or what he has been up to. I would love to finish this thing because I feel that the stuff we wrote 10 years ago is still valid today… Maybe even more so than when we wrote it because the sound of metal has changed into what we were doing way back then.

6. What ‘rock star’ deserves a smack in the mouth and why?

Axl Rose… That guy was lucky enough to get support from millions of fans for years even though singing on key is as impossible for him as it is for Richard Simmons to get a hard-on for a naked chick. Anyone that has 17,000 fans buying tickets and waiting for him to perform and then won’t show up because a cop gave him a ticket or has to get high instead deserves a fucking kick in the ass!

7. What’s up with wearing that big hat and long, black leather trench coat all the time, even in Southern California during the summer. What are you trying to do — give yourself heat stroke?

You have to understand that the sun is deadly to the undead… I need the layers of leather for survival… Besides… I have survived an unholy marriage and came out of it alive… Nothing makes me worried or sweat anymore… After my marriage, hell would be like club med my friend…

8. Speaking of your hat and long trench coat, we heard that some of your fans were upset that Hugh Jackman’s character in the movie ‘Van Helsing’ wears a long trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat down over his eyes, much like yourself. Do you really think someone at Universal Studios really went through the trouble of finding out who you were, only to steal your look?

I don’t think anything… All I know is that one day I started getting a shitload of E-mails from fans telling me that I am in a movie… My manager called me and told me to look at my new movie poster. What does bother me is the fact that where people used to hide their children when they saw me coming, now they hand them over and start taking pictures… I fucking hate that. One guy I know for a fact lifted shit from me for a while was the guy from the cult… I remember when he was dressed like a gay pirate… I actually dug the guy then because I don’t hate people just because they have skidmarks in the back and front of their underpants. I do remember what he used to dress like though… I also remember that right at that time WWIII started attracting labels, Don Arden and we had just started selling out whenever we played. During that time a fan came up to me after a show, pointing at some dude and telling me that this guy was Ian from the cult. We played about once a week at the time and we started seeing this guy at every show for like 2 months… After one of those shows I thanked him for coming and told him I dug his stuff. Eventually he stopped coming. A few weeks later my girlfriend calls me up telling me I have to see something she just taped off of MTV. Make a long story short, it was the fire woman video I think. Just to give you an idea how far this guy took the Mandy drag… My mother came to visit me during all this and I played her the video with the sound down… MY OWN MOTHER THOUGHT THIS WAS ME! LOL That guy moved like me, looked like me and even had my little stage prop (anyone that has seen me knows what that is) going on there. I think the man loved me like a hooker loves her pimp after he teaches her tall about he wonderful world of anal sex with multiple paying partners… If you’re reading this Ian… I want my hat and pants back and… Who’s your daddy…???!!!

9. Of the following, which do you prefer and why?

Dave DuCey or Mikkey Dee = That’s a drawIron Maiden or Saxon = Hmmm… The first 3 Maiden albums are the best, after that I would have to say I like Saxon as much as Iron Maiden.McDonald’s or Burger King = Burger King kicks Mc. Donald’s ass because the Lion said so!Ray Gillen or Glenn Hughes = They are both awesome singers but I would have to give Glenn the edge… As people they are both gentlemen… Rest in peace my brother… Teleprompters or cue cards = Teleprompters because they make more noise when you smash them.Rob Zombie or Marilyn Manson = Hmmm… That is a hard one… The Pee Vee’s playhouse dude or big bird… I would say I like big bird better because he is funnier. I never thought I would see the day when a muppet would go Satanist… Who knew…???.Count Dracula or Frankenstein’s Monster = Dracula because he’s a better dresser. The Whiskey or The Roxy = The Roxy has a better stage and sound. Bosshoss or Abaddon = They are my sons and the loves of my life… that would be a draw.Poison or Warrant = Poison… Poison had better songs…

10. How big was your largest music-related check and what did you do with it?

It was about 3 by 7 inches and I spent it in ways which will ensure me a great job in hell… I am up for tour guide down there…

11. Of all the bands you or WWIII have shared the stage with, which one was the coolest to work with, and which one was the biggest group of jackasses you’ve ever met?

Iron Maiden was the coolest and Armored Saint was the worst.

12. What kind of a stage name is ‘Mandy Lion,’ anyway? That sounds more like one of those teen singers like Michelle Branch or Hillary Duff than it does a metal singer. How did you come up with that one?

I know… I wish it was just a stage name. The name is not all that masculine… I always wanted a more masculine name like… Alice… Or Marilyn….

13. Yes or No, has Mandy Lion ever:

Set a dumpster on fire = never done that but if Steve Jones was in one I wouldKnocked over a vending machine = yesPrank-called Moni Scaria = yesPassed out on stage = noWorn a pair of Lederhosen = noShit in your hat = of course… isn’t that what hats are for?Refused a fan’s request for an autograph = noTook part in a circle jerk = noKilled a Werewolf = all the timeDrove drunk = never

14. Back in ’93, you appeared as guest vocalist on a few tracks on George Lynch’s ‘Sacred Groove’ album. How was George to work with in the studio, and did he make you feel his biceps or anything whacky like that?

Dude… That is some fantasy you are having there… I am happy to say that there was no fondling of any sort. I hope that doesn’t break your heart… As far as working with the guy I have to say that I never had more fun recording. I heard so many horror stories about him and cannot confirm any of them. The man is as cool as it gets.

15. Rank the following chicks on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being a nasty old hag, and 10 being a modern-day Aphrodite:

Britney Spears = 8 tends to gain a little weight but as long as she doesn’t sing she’s hot.Christina Aguilera = 9 just cause she’s a nasty lil girl looking for a daddy…Jessica Simpson = 1 intelligence is a beautiful thing when you have it. I would not fuck that bitch with someone else’s dick.Ashley Simpson = 4Pamela Anderson = 9Paris Hilton = 7 Likes to be bad and doesn’t wear underwear with her little cheek showing skirts… Mandy likes that…Mandy Moore = 6Shakira = Sounds like a sheep when she sings but she’s hot… Besides you know what they say about sheep, right…? 2 things… 1) They say that sheep have vaginas that look very human… and 2) If you want to get a good lay from a sheep you have to put it right on the edge of a cliff… That way it pushes back better…Kate Beckinsale = 5Doro Pesch = 7

16. There has been a rumor going around for years that Steve Jones, your former A&R director, tried to paint the members of WWIII as ‘Neo-Nazis’ and ‘white supremacists,’ irreparably hurting your image and reputation, and ultimately causing your record deal to fall apart. What’s that all about, and what did you have to do to clear the air and regain your professional integrity? Did you send out your minions break Steve’s legs or anything like that?

Steve Jones (Not to be confused with Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols) to this day has to be the biggest idiot I have ever met. This guy decided behind my back that it would be a great idea to put a fucking Hitler slogan on my CD and actually spelled it wrong!!!!! So, people didn’t just think that I am a nazi but thanks to this fucking idiot they thought I was an illiterate nazi! What a stupid motherfucker!!!! Someone should slap his mother for shitting him onto the planet! Ever since then I have been explaining what happened to anyone that asked. There is not much more one can do after a situation like that.

17. Your Web site features a section called the ‘Lion Girls,’ which is a lot like our Sludgette of the Month feature, except they’re not wearing Sludgendise. What are the prerequisites to become a ‘Lion Girl,’ and what do you intend to do to the Lion Girl of the Year?

Well, she has to be cute of course, a fan and my staff has to like what they see. After they are on the site the fans get to vote on their favorite girl. She will get her prize, get to dance for and with me on the road and then I am going to do things to her other people would not do to a farm animal. Lovingly that is…

18. How do you pay the bills?

I sell very large amounts of sperm.

19. The Last of Mandy Lion:

Last book you read = Da Vinci codesLast new CD you purchased = Book Of Secrets Lorena MckennitLast concert you watched from the audience = Motley PriestLast movie you saw in the theatre = What the bleeb do we knowLast motorcycle you bought = V8 Chevy car engine big ass PhantomLast fast food drive-thru you hit = Burger KingLast time you talked to Steve Jones = 13 years agoLast time you got into a fistfight = 4 months agoLast time you shit yourself = when I saw the questions you sent meLast time you got drunk = when I saw the questions you sent me

20. Time for Metal Sludge’s Word Association. We mention a name, and you give us your thoughts.

Well there you have it! Mandy seems to have some kind of a thing for farm animals, but we’ve heard of stranger fetishes. Props to Mandy for being a good sport and answering all of our questions! Don’t forget to come check out Mandy Lion and WWIII this Saturday night at our Metal Sludge Extravaganza 9! Be there or you suck… the Lion says so.

For more information on Mandy Lion and his latest escapades, head on over to www.mandy-lion.com

This Day in Sludge History

Jimi Hendrix set fire to his guitar live on stage for the first time when he was appearing at The Astoria in London, England. It was the first night of a 24-date tour. The Fender Stratocaster burned on stage by Hendrix sold for £280,000 (British pounds) at a 2008 London auction of rock memorabilia. (1967)

Def Leppard released their fifth studio album 'Adrenalize', the first by the band following the 1991 death of guitarist Steve Clark. Former Dio and Whitesnake guitarist Vivian Campbell, was brought in as the newest member. (1992)

Born on this day, Mick Ralphs, guitarist, Mott The Hoople (1948) and Angus Young, Scottish-born Australian guitarist with AC/DC (1955),